Apparatus for processing of vegetable fibers



J. HAAS 3,025,573

APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING OF VEGETABLE FIBERS March 20, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 23, 1954 FIG.

OL A INVENTOR JOSEF HAA'S ,Simmw a Elm/ms ATTORNEYS J. HAAS 3,025,573

APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING OF VEGETABLE FIBERS March 20, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Smyrna! & 5mm

Y B i a 4 d J J J l 1 EN v a R j u n J n P I; 5% N\ m mom \M H M \M F w 6 h.

ATTORNEYS iinite The present invention relates to apparatus for processing plants of the Malvaceae family to derive therefrom vegetable fibers suitable for incorporation in thread, textiles and similar products.

Although synthetic fiber production has become of increasing significance in modern commerce, the vegetable fiber continues to hold its most important role acquired over a long period of time. Flax, hemp, jute and ramie are but a few of the bast plants cultivated for their fiber content. Of more recent exploitation are the Hibiscus members of the Malvaceae, the Rosele, Kenaf, Urena, and Sida. In developing these new sources of vegetable fiber, however, it was discovered that the conventional operations were not applicable thereto. The customary retting and/or scutching and scraping decortication was accompanied by a physical deterioration of the fibrous stock. Manifestly, therefore, a modified system of processing was necessary in order that the fiber content of the new plant species could be recovered.

A primary object of my invention is the provision of a machine which is intended to enable the continuous production of bast fibers in such form as to be adapted directly to spinning or weaving without additional treatment.

A second object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which will accomplish decortication of the fibrous stock without serious physical deterioration of the fibers per se thus permitting a subsequent defibering under conditions customarily inapplicable to liberated composite fibers.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a hydraulic defibering system wherein the decorticated fibers are separated into individual strands or units and simultaneously therewith freed of most of the organic binding material absorbed thereon.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments thereof, reference being made to procedural details as more fully disclosed and claimed in an application Serial No. 425,167, filed simultaneously herewith, now US. Patent No. 2,926,391, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of apparatus adapted for the decortication of fibrous stock.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-section of the decorticating rolls per se.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of one type of rollers employed in the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation, partially in section, of the defibering and washing portion of the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of one form of ring washer especially adapted for use in the apparatus, and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the hydraulic defibering equipment.

The apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a feed table 10 which may be in the form of an endless chain or belt conveyor or a roller table by means of which the fibrous stock, freshly harvested or from suitable retting tanks, is carried forward into the machine. The conveyor or roller table may conveniently be adapted for substantially uniform distribution of the stock across its surface during I .7. 3,@25,573 @f Patented. Mar. 20, 962

forward travel assisted by spaced pairs 11 of distributing rolls. Assemblies of this type are well known and any one of several commercially available systems may be employed.

The rolls 11, suitably mounted for automatic vertical adjustment to compensate for size variation in the fibrous stock being processed and suitably driven, urge the fibrous stock forwardly between one or more spaced pairs 12 of rubber surfaced rolls, also suitably mounted for automatic vertical adjustment and suitably driven, which advance the fibrous stock into a suitably driven vertically space pair of rolls 13, surface with a spirally ribbed surface of rubber, as shown in FIG. 3. The ribs 14 exert a twisting action upon the bark layers of the fibrous stock, freeing them substantially completely from the interior, woody portions, and when necessary completing the work initiated in the preliminary stock retting. The satisfactory operation of the stripping rolls 13 so mounted as to compensate for material size variations is made possible through their close proximity to the holding rolls 12 which prevent lateral displacement of the stock without stripping thereof during passage between the rolls 13.

Upon leaving the rolls 13, the fibrous stock passes over a pair 15 of decorticating rolls arranged in spaced horizontal relationship and suitably journaled and driven for downward discharge. The rolls 15, as best seen in FIG. 2, are provided with sheaths 16 of rubber or comparable elastomeric material and preferably contain perforations 17, connecting to interior conduits 18, for purposes to be described subsequently. As the fibrous stock advances over the rolls 15, the leading ends of bark layers loosened by the stripping rolls 13 drop between the rolls 15 and the bark is drawn away from the stock and discharged downwardly into a conveyor chute 19 for transport to further processing. To assist in directing the leading ends v of the bark into the rolls 15 and to free the bark ends where the stripping rolls 13 have not functioned perfectly, jets of fluid, such as air or water, are forced from conduits 26 arranged in spaced parallel relationship above the rolls 15 against the fibrous stock. The perforations 17 in the rolls 15 permit ready passage of this fiuid and thus a back-wash or eddying which could aifect. proper positioning of the bark layers is avoided. If it is desired, the pressure jets may be eliminated and the decorticating rolls 15 provided with interior suction in the upper quadrant thereof to grip initially the bark layers and thus induce the introduction thereof into the rolls.

The decorticated stock passes over the rolls 15 and preferably is comrninuted between breaker or chopper rolls 21, the particles dropping onto a conveyor system 22 for disposal as desired.

Upon discharge from the rolls 15, the decorticated bark, in varying widths and lengths passes through a suitable indexing system (not shown) for proper alignment and is picked up by an endless conveyor 25 provided with suitable detents 26 to engage and hold individual sections thereof. The bark sections are subjected to hydraulic defibering during travel through an inclined trough 30, a conduit 31 providing a convenient supply of water under high pressure which is sprayed into the trough at intervals therealong against the bark sections to disintegrate them.

Disposed along the trough 3t) in regularly spaced relation are a plurality of bafile plates 32 secured at their leading ends to a false bottom plate 33 provided within the trough 30. The bathe plates 32 are curved inwardly and upwardly, the sides 33 converging int-o restricted necks 34, each of which overlies the next succeeding baffle plate. The bafile plates 32 are so formed as to provide a firm support for the decorticated bark sections drawn thereover during the period of time they are impacted by the water jets which break down and dislodge the bonding 3 media uniting the individual fibers of which the bark is composed. Between sprays, the bark sections are automatically manipulated in their forward movement over the baflle plates, to expose fresh surfaces to the next series of water jets for additional defibering action.

The used spray water carrying the gums and waste from the defibering action flows down the bafile plates 32 away from the treated bark sections and discharges through openings 35 in the plate 33 and ultimately leaves the trough 38 through the conduit 36 provided at the end thereof.

Upon completion of the defibering action, the groups of individual fibers liberated from each bark section are transported through a ring washer 38 wherein a plurality of annularly disposed pipes 39, supplied with water under pressure through one or more common headers 40, are provided with inwardly directed discharge nozzles (not shown) of any suitable style to spray and wash uniformly the fibers without material displacement thereof.

The thoroughly cleaned fibers, leaving the washer 38 are removed from the conveyor 25 as it passes over a terminal drive pulley 41 by a gathering fork 42 and delivered to one or more pairs of wringing rolls 43 which express the residual water from the fibers. Air drying, or if desired, oven drying, places the fibers in condition for subsequent spinning and weaving operations.

It will be apparent that in the various sections of the processing apparatus as hereinbefore described, the fibrous stock is not subjected to excessive crushing or tearing pressure which would result in damage to the fiber structure. The flexibility of adjustment of the several elements in the decorticating portion of the apparatus enables the handling of fibrous stock without a preliminary grading thereof. Stock of irregular shape, gnarled and/or branched may be handled as easily as stock of selected uniformity. As has been indicated, however, there is a preliminary retting of the stock to loosen the bark or bast layers in which is held the major portion of the fibers, the desired product.

The combination of stripping or wringer rolls in vertical alignment immediately adjacent the horizontally dis-.

posed pair of decorticating rolls effects a substantially complete separation of the bark layers from the wood stock while retaining the bark layers in a form particularly adapted for subsequent handling and processing.

No particular means for driving the various sets of rollers have been described hereinbefore, since any of several well known expedients may be employed as desired. Chain or gear transmissions, interlocking or not, are applicable to the several sections of the apparatus. Speeds of rotation may be varied at will, depending upon the nature of the fibrous stock undergoing processing, and may be uniform or different as determined by actual operating conditions.

It will at once be apparent that numerous variations and modifications of the described apparatus are possible without departing from the spirit of the inventive concept. Accordingly it is not intended to be limited by the specific recitations in the foregoing description nor by the partculars of the accompanyng illustrations; except as indicated in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for the processing of vegetable fiber comprising a feed table including distributing rolls for uniform placement of fibrous stock entering said apparatus, horizontally spaced pairs of drive rolls for advancing said stock through the apparatus, a pair of vertically aligned bark for decortication, and hydraulic defibering means for impacting said decorticated bark to liberate the fiber content thereof.

2. Apparatus for the processing of vegetable fiber as defined in claim 1, in which the fluid means adapted to position said bark for cortication are water jets.

3. Apparatus for the processing of vegetable fiber as defined in claim 1, in which the fluid means adapted to position said bark for decortication are air streams.

4. In apparatus for the processing of vegetable fiber, the combination of vertically aligned wringing rolls with spirally ribbed surfaces for freeing without crushing the bark layers of fibrous stock during a controlled advance thereof, drive rolls immediately preceding said wringing rolls for controlling the forward movement of said stock and a pair of horizontally aligned perforated decorticating rolls immediately behind said wringing rolls, the peripheral surfaces of said decorticating rolls coacting for stripping the bark downwardly and away from the stock.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the hydraulic defibering means is disposed within a restricted zoneand includes a plurality of baflie plates over which the decorticated bark is advanced and impacted by water jets while supported thereon.

6. In apparatus for the processing of vegetable fiber, the combination of vertically aligned wringing rolls with spirally ribbed surfaces for freeing without crushing the bark layers of fibrous stock during a controlled advance thereof, a pair of horizontally aligned perforated decortieating rolls immediately behind said wringing rolls, stripping the bark downwardly and away from the stock, and hydraulic defibering means adjacent the discharge end of said decorticating means consisting of impacting means for impacting decorticated bark against a restraining surface to liberate the fiber content of the bark and a ring jet washer sequentially positioned for final cleansing of the liberated fiber.

7. In apparatus for the processing of vegetable fiber, the combination of vertically aligned wringing rolls with spirally ribbed surfaces for freeing without crushing the bark layers from fibrous stock to which they adhere, during a controlled advance thereof, and fluid means adapted to position said bark for decortication and a pair of horizontally aligned perforated decorticating rolls immediately behind said wringing rolls, the peripheral surfaces of said decorticating rolls coacting to strip the bark downwardly and away from said stock.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 394,284 Menzies Dec. 11, 1888 635,345 Packer Oct. 24, 1899 884,401 Matthews Apr. 14, 1908 1,089,261 Pos Mar. 3, 1914 1,964,633 Haynes Apr. 15, 1932 1,983,454 Haynes Sept. 22, 1933 2,263,591 Patterson Nov. 25, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 348,806 Germany Feb. 17, 1922 692,739 Germany June 26, 1940 

1. APPARATUS FOR THE PROCESSING OF VEGETABLE FIBER COMPRISING A FEED TABLE INCLUDING DISTRIBUTING ROLLS FOR UNIFORM PLACEMENT OF FIBROUS STOCK ENTERING SAID APPARATUS HORIZONTALLY SPACED PAIRS OF DRIVE ROLLS FOR ADVANCING SAID 